STASH THE SNOOPY fishing rods for a little while, kids.
Saturday’s annual Kids Fishing Day at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim has been canceled due to adverse water conditions in the park’s Water Reclamation Pond.
“A test plant of a limited number of fish was made [last Monday] and a number of fish were lost due to high water temperatures,” The North Olympic Peninsula chapter of Puget Sound Anglers president Bob Keck wrote to club members this week.
“With the weather forecast showing warm weather through the end of the week we are concerned about losing most of the fish that we would be planting,” Keck said regarding the event, scheduled for May 19.
“We are looking at options to re-schedule the fishing day in September or October after the water in the pond cools down.”
This is the second time fish have perished in the Water Reclamation Pond in less than a year.
About 500 rainbow trout died in June of 2017 because of warmer than normal temperatures in the pond, David Garlington Sequim public works director said at a Sequim City Council meeting in 2017.
“The fishing pond in the reclaimed area wasn’t designed as a fishing pond, but an irrigation storage pond. Fish weren’t given any consideration whatsoever,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not deep enough to stay cool when we get hot weather … It’s a great opportunity for kids to fish there. It was heartbreaking for everyone to bag up 500 fish.”
In his message to chapter members, Keck thanked the city of Sequim “for their installation of a re-circulating pump which will have benefits down the road for fish survival. We are working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Hurd Creek Hatchery to hold the fish for a future plant due to the warm water condition in the pond.”
Sanctuary meeting
NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary’s (OCNMS) Sanctuary Advisory Council will meet today at the Quileute Tribal Council — West Wing in La Push.
The meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m., is open to the public.
Updates from the Sanctuary’s Ocean Acidification Sentinel Site Working Group and result from its Issue Prioritization Process will be offered in the morning.
Afternoon presentations include an introduction to and overview of the sanctuary condition report, and Ocean Acidification education pilot programs.
Hunter education scholarship
Forks hunter education instructor Randy Mesenbrink clued me into a pair of scholarships available to hunter education students.
Two $2,500 “Future Leader in Conservation” scholastic scholarships will be awarded to high school juniors/seniors.
Students must submit a copy of their current hunter education card and current hunting license, a copy of their most recent report card, a biography and an essay.
Selected essays will be forwarded to the Publisher of the Hunter & Shooting Sports Education Journal for inclusion in the Fall issue.
The deadline to submit an application is June 9.
Applications are available at tinyurl.com/PDN-HunterScholarship
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
